British Empire & Commonwealth Museum

Bristol's slave-trading past is thoughtfully explored at the British Empire & Commonwealth Museum. Dealing with the history and consequences of British colonial conquest, the 16 galleries range over 500 years of British trade, exploration and exploitation, and while there's a conscious attempt at perspective, it's hard not to be moved by the stories of subjugation that underpinned Britain's imperial rise.

Highlights include sepia-toned films from the Empire's heyday and a collection of outfits worn by colonial administrators, Indian viceroys and tribal chiefs. Breaking the Chains, marking the bicentenary of the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1807, interweaves film, music and audio testimony in an examination of the gruesome realities of the slave trade.